Four Friends, Four Books

Here are four new books that you should consider for your book budget in the coming month. I really hope these books sell well and influence widely, not just because the authors have become friends over the years, but also because they cover four extremely important topics for individual Christians and for the church at large.

What’s Best Next: How The Gospel Transforms The Way You Get Things Done
This is a book that’s been a long time in writing, but having been an avid reader of Matt Perman’s blog for a few years, I know it’s a book worth waiting for. So many Gospel-centered books don’t seem to touch real life, especially for the working man – that’s too “worldly.” And so many leadership and productivity books have no interest in the Gospel – that’s too “spiritual.” Matt has the rare ability to unite both. Here’s a video of an address gave at a Fortune 100 company recently on how to be a Christian in a secular workplace. He talks about avoiding the twin errors of spiritual weirdness (such as thinking you need to insert the gospel into every conversation, or call attention to God through strange trinkets like the “Faithbook” t-shirt I came across at a truck stop once) on the one hand and, on the other hand, thinking that our faith bears no relation to our work at all.” You can buy his book here and read John Piper’s foreword here.

United: Captivated by God’s Vision for Diversity
Click above for an interview with Trillia Newbell whose writings the Lord has greatly used in my own life not only to better understand biblical diversity but to love it, embrace it, and pursue it in my own life and in the church. You can buy it here and watch a conversation below between Trillia, Thabiti, and Kristie. Next to seeing a free North Korea before I die, more diverse churches are second on my wish list.

The Final Days of Jesus: The Most Important Week of the Most Important Person Who Ever LivedI don’t think anything has ever helped me so much to enter into the final and climactic sufferings of Christ as this book by Justin Taylor and Andreas Kostenberger. By arranging the Gospel accounts in chronological order and reconstructing the timetable of the last week of Christ’s life, you feel as if you are present every step of the way, witnessing your own salvation being worked out and purchased. The additional notes and commentary are factual more than devotional, but the momentum of truth gradually builds until your heart is aflame with love for such a great God and Savior. Free study guide here and purchase here.